We’re strolling out of Wixon’s Wisconsin headquarters and production plant and as we
breathe in the fresh air, it’s suddenly
apparent we’re being followed by an
aroma cloud that must always permeate
the building.

The smell is a delicious and potent mix
of savory seasonings with a hint of something sweet. But there are so many scents
packed into the mouth-watering cloud
— like standing in a kitchen filled with 10
boiling pots of different soups — that no
particular spice note stands out. It’s aro-matherapy for foodies.

It makes sense that such a mélange
of aromas would hang over Wixon. The
company has more than 36,000 formulas
in its vault and creates roughly 100 new
formula systems every month. If you can
dream it, they can help you taste it.

Wixon has three main divisions —With consumer tastes always in flux,Wixon is a company that has to stay nim-ble and alert, with flavorists and researchand development scientists who can whipup tasty solutions to whatever flavor chal-lenges food companies face. It’s a positionthat puts them at the forefront of everyoncoming food trend.

On a recent tour of Wixon, the company’s top executive and management
gave us a taste of what goes into their
operations, explained the company’s
recent growth spurt, and revealed exactly
what great flavors are behind the “Wixon
smell.”

A Century Going Strong

“We call ourselves a family business,”Peter Gottsacker, Wixon’s president, said.“I don’t want to sound hokey, but in thisday and age of mergers and acquisitions...people connect with (the fact that) we’renot a big Wall Street company.”Gottsacker’s humble mentality goesback to the company’s very humblebeginnings.

Just over 100 years ago, the com-pany started when Charles Wixon began

By Meagan Parrish, Editor, Chem.InfoA World of FlavorWixon has been a trusted provider of flavors, seasonings and technologiesfor food and beverage manufacturers for more than 100 years.